The Race for Space is the second studio album by British alternative group Public Service Broadcasting. Once again working with the British Film Institute, the new album relives the story of the American and Soviet space race from 1957-1972. The opening track features a speech by John F. Kennedy which was made on September 12, 1962 at Rice University. To launch the album, the band played two concerts on 26 and 27 February 2015 at the National Space Centre in Leicester. The band will complete a full 13-date tour of the UK and Ireland to support the album. The band also announced that they will never play the whole album cover to cover live. This is because of the nature of track 4 (“Fire in the Cockpit”) and the band said that they will probably never play that track at their performances.

Pseudonymous London duo Public Service Broadcasting hit upon a winning combination of guitars, electronics and vintage public information films for their 2013 debut, Inform-Educate-Entertain. The follow-up focuses on the US-Soviet space race, between 1957 and 1972. It’s a smart move. Archive samples evoke the wonder and majesty of mankind’s most giant leap, and they’re complemented by finely judged soundscapes, from the mournful, static-soaked drone of Fire in the Cockpit (detailing the tragedy of Apollo 1) to the pulsing euphoria of Go! (the successful July 1969 moon landing). Even more powerful is the palpable suspense of The Other Side, as Apollo 8 orbits the moon and loses radio contact on the far side… before regaining it after an agonising wait. –Phil Mongredien

Combining music, spoken word, and visuals, London-based duo Public Service Broadcasting were formed in 2010 when multi-instrumentalist and songwriter known as J. Willgoose, Esq. recruited equally regally named drummer Wrigglesworth, following a string of eclectic but, ultimately, unfruitful musical outings that had been going on and off since the late ’90s. Inspired by listening to archive material from BBC Radio 4, Willgoose began to delve deeper, searching for both audio clips and film footage from throughout the 20th century that he could possibly complement with indie/electronic music and vice-versa. Public Service Broadcasting’s first release, EP One, appeared in August 2010 and was the perfect introduction to the pair’s concept, featuring “New Dimensions in Sound,” which sampled an infomercial for a record player alongside vibrant indie rock that built into a crescendo of distorted guitar. PSB began to make a name for themselves on the live circuit with an unmistakable set that featured an old walnut-veneered 1960s television which they lovingly described as the band’s “frontman.” A year after EP One, the duo released the single “Roygbiv” and then The War Room, another EP, this time focusing on World War II and, in particular, The Blitz. Sampling propaganda films, sirens, and a film about the invention of the Spitfire on a track of the same name, the EP created further buzz and radio play for Public Service Broadcasting as they prepared their debut album Inform – Educate – Entertain, which was released in May 2013 on their own label, Test Card. By now the guitar, banjo, and electronics of J. Willgoose, Esq. and intricate drumming from the jazz-trained Wrigglesworth was developing into a well-rounded, well-oiled machine. One of the album’s highlights, “Everest” was based around The Conquest of Everest, a 1953 film documenting Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s first successful ascent of the mountain, including the fitting line “two very small men/cutting steps in the roof of the world.” Public Service Broadcasting went on to tour the album and play a host of festivals in the summer of 2013, as well as secure a support slot with the Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park. –Biography by Daniel Clancy